Operation: Waheela
by Bml1997
Summary: Skippsy is assigned a mission with an agent Ethan to go into the wilderness of the Northwest Territories in Canada after multiple agents go MIA. This story takes place during the stories of Stranded and The Mammalian Reptilian Revenge. (Might move rating up later, we will see)
1. Base V

**A.N.~And here is the start of Skippsy's mission :D**

* * *

_**Chapter 1: Base V**_

Skippsy steps into the base and straightens her feathers. It had been a long flight from New York to Alberta, Canada. She, feeling sore, exhausted, but over all excited, waddles to the administration area and clears her throat. "Hey."

The king penguin before her takes out a headphone and looks at her. "What?" He asks gruffly.

"I was told to come here for a meeting with Commander Gray." She says.

"Two floors down, third door on left." He rolls his eyes. "And if she's not there, don't come back here. Try the room next door."

Skippsy nods. "Alright, thanks." She says before continuing down the hallway to the stairs. She notes that this base seems much cleaner and emptier than the other bases she has been in. It nearly is quiet enough to hear her feet on the floor. "I wonder where everyone is at..." She mutters as she descends the steps and glances around.

A couple of agents are starting to walk past her, but then they stop. "You took the stairs? We have an elevator."

"I'm sure there is one, yes, I just didn't feel like searching it down when the steps were closest. But thanks anyway." She nods.

"Okay then." One of the agents nods before she and her friend waddle away again.

Skippsy continues on her way and then knocks on a door.

"It's open!"

She opens the door and closes it behind her. "You wanted to see me, Commander?" She turns and looks at her.

Commander Gray nods as she is looking at her computer screen. "Yeah, take a seat." She moves a black two of spades onto an ace and pauses her game before turning to look at her. "We're not completely sure of what's going on, but we've been losing agents up in the territories."

"Bears maybe?" Skippsy suggests.

"Well, I don't think a bear would send back dead bodies, Skippsy." Gray looks at her, slightly amused. "I'm sending you with someone who knows the area to find out what's going on...Also, we had an agent go missing yesterday, Agent Mathias. You are to try to recover him...Preferably alive, but if that is not possible, then the most of his remains you can get."

Skippsy nods some. "File for more details?"

"It's with Ethan." She nods.

"Ethan?" She tilts her head.

Gray nods. "He is going with you on _Operation: Waheela_ since he knows the area."

"What the kipper is a waheela, if you don't mind my asking, Commander?" Skippsy asks with a strange look. "Is that the agent's last name? Some Canadian town?"

Commander Gray chuckles. "It's a legendary bear-wolf that is said to lurk about in the Northwest Territories. Mind you, I don't name the missions, I just plan out and assign them...However, if you _do_ see a waheela, get some proof, why don'tcha?"

Skippsy just blinks. "Ehrm...Alright then, ma'am, I'll see what I can do...Where am I finding this Ethan dude at?"

"I expect he's in the break room." She nods.

"Alright." She says and salutes.

"Dismissed." Gray nods and returns to her game of solitaire. "Don't die, alright?" She calls after her.

Skippsy sighs as she waddles. "Like any of us agents plan on dying on these things..." She mutters and shakes her head. She then starts looking for the break room and waddles in. "Um, is anyone in here named Ethan?" She asks.

Two heads look up at her.

"Okay, um, an Ethan going on _Operation: Waheela_?" She tries.

One of the Ethans returns to his food, the other gets up and waddles over to her. Skippsy gives him a quick look over. A chinstrap penguin. He is taller than her...Maybe around Marissa's height, possibly a little taller. Deep, coffee-colored eyes...Or maybe they just seemed coffee colored because she's hungry. She considers this momentarily before sticking out her flipper to him. "Skipper Skippsy." She says.

"Where is your team then, Miss Skipper?" He asks, glancing around.

"Back in New York, the commander didn't want them along." She shrugs.

Ethan nods. "Alright, Miss American Skipper, I'm Agent Ethan. "He nods and shakes her flipper.

"You can just call me Skippsy, Ethan." She says.

"I'm sure I can, Miss American." He nods and gets the file. "Guess you're looking for this, eh?"

"Yes." Skippsy nods and reaches for it.

Ethan hands it over with a nod. "Pretty simple mission by the reading." He says and returns to his spot. "The only danger I see being nature."

Skippsy nods, though ignores him as she skims through the file. "Have you any idea of where we are really going?"

"I have the basic idea." He nods.

"Then let's go." She nods.

Ethan chuckles and looks at her. "Already, Miss American? But you only just got here. Surely you'd rather have a bite and a nap first."

Skippsy shakes her head. "This is a life or death mission for that Mathias. Those things aren't as important."

Ethan laughs more. "You haven't been out in the terrain, trust me, Skippsy, you want that snack and nap first or you won't make it there."

"And where do you expect for me to do all that at, hmm?" She looks at her and crosses her flippers. "I don't live hereabouts. I don't sleep in break rooms."

"Commander Gray said to have you sleep in General Garrison's office." Ethan shrugs. "Now why she would let you sleep there..."

Skippsy nods some and yawns. "Gray and I go way back...If it wasn't for her, I probably wouldn't be here." She sighs and then shakes her head. "But that's not things you need to know, that's just between her and me."

Ethan shrugs. "Eh, you're just an odd one then."

"Odd?" She looks at him. "Go back to your sandwich."

"Ooh, Miss American Skipper is throwing orders around to agents now, eh?"

Skippsy rolls her eyes and just waddles out. "And to think he's kind of cute..." She mutters. "Though I thought Canadians were...A little more welcoming and polite..." She scratches under her beak. "Maybe he's like that Beaver musician Trixy complains about."

She then waddles to the office and gets the key from the closest potted plant and enters. She flops out on the couch and conks out in is woken about an hour later by the smell of coffee and blinks her eyes open. "Huh?"

Ethans holds out a cup to her. "We need to get going now after you've had something to eat." He says.

Skippsy sits up, rubs her eyes, and gets the cup. "Okay."

"I've got the packs already set. It's going to be a long hike."

"Hike?" She looks at him. "Isn't there a jeep thing?"

Ethan looks at her. "No."

Skippsy shrugs some. "Just thought I would ask." She says and drinks the coffee with a small face. "Is it possible to have a fish to put in this?"

"A what?" He looks at her strangely.

"A fish? A little herring or something?" She asks, getting up.

Ethan clears his throat. "Possibly in the break room...Though isn't that kind of...Weird?"

"Don't knock it 'til you've tried it." She shrugs, waddling ahead to the break room. "Skipper and I have had our coffee like that for as long as I can remember...As did our dad."

"There is another you?"

"I have a brother, yes." She nods. "But he doesn't do so many solo missions...Plus, I'm better at them."

"Sure you are." He nods.

"I am too." Skippsy gasps. "Gray taught me herself!"

Ethan shrugs. "She's taught many herself, and they all claim to be the best."

"Maybe because we all are the best." She shrugs and enters the break room.

"I'm pretty sure you are all cocky and vain." He grins and grabs a snack.

"Not true." She says. "She trained me alone, not in some class. She showed me some of her signature moves."

This catches Ethan's attention. "What are you then? Her niece or something?"

"No...But...Nevermind." Skippsy sighs and stirs a fish in her coffee. "I'm not discussing something like this with a stranger."

"Paranoid much, eh?" He chuckles.

"Yes." She says with her beak a bit in the air. "And if we are going to work together at all, Ethan, we need to get off on better feet."

Ethan nods some and thinks for a moment. "I'm sorry, but I've dealt with Americans before and it didn't turn out very great."

Skippsy nods some. "And I'm sorry, but I'm like this with everyone." She nods. "Sarcasm is just how my team and I communicate."

"Alright...Who exactly is leading the expedition?" He asks, going over to a corner and pulling out the backpacks.

"Well...I'd think me, but you're the one who knows the area and where we are going." She nods.

Ethan nods some. "I guess joint-leadership then, eh?"

Skippsy sighs and finishes her coffee. "Yeah I guess." She grabs the other backpack and gets it on. "So let's get this show on the road, oof."


	2. Little Log Cabin

**Chapter 2: Little Log Cabin**

"I thought you said there wasn't a vehicle." Skippsy snorts, looking at the dark green and muddy truck sitting in the parking lot.

"You asked about a jeep, this is a truck." Ethan says smugly and gets into the driver's side. "And we are not taking this all of the way, just up to my house." He says. "From there, we are hiking."

Skippsy nods and gets into the passenger seat. "So you live around where we are going?"

Ethan shrugs a little. "Eh...Not exactly. I live in Alberta, but I have a little cabin in the territory. That is where I'm driving to, but we will then hike up into the Nahanni Park." He nods.

"So you spend a lot of time up there?" She asks, watching out the window.

"You could say that...I spent about two years up there in the woods." He shrugs with a smile.

Skippsy looks at him for a long moment before looking at the ceiling with a groan. "You're a treehugger!" She exclaims. "A tree hugging hippy!"

Ethan gives her a glance. "If by 'treehugger' you mean a naturalist, yes, I am. But do not say I am a hippy, American." He growls a little. "Do you see any flower necklaces? Tie dye? Little world peace salogons?" He snorts. "I am not a hippy. I am an agent, like you, I just give a trout about the environment."

Skippsy watches him a bit interestedly. "Oh...Always thought they were kind of the same thing…"

"Well they are not." He glances at her again.

"Alright, my bad." She nods and returns to watching out the window. "What did you do for two years out in the woods then?"

Ethan shrugs and sighs a little. "A lot of hiking, exploring." He says, thinking. "Moose whispering."

Skippsy gives him a funny look. "And how is that supposed to work?"

"It doesn't." He chuckles. "You sit there mooing at a moose, hoping it will moo back and it just snorts and trots away...Unless you're unlucky...Then it might decide to come after you and you run for a half click until you finally gain enough ground to climb a tree and wait there until he goes away."

"So why would you moo at the moose and take that risk?" She chuckles.

"Well, why not, eh?" He shrugs. "When you've been alone in the wilderness for two years...You do crazy things." He sighs some. "And I tell you, I'd love to go back and do it again sometime...Maybe three years with my journal and camera, documenting the wildlife...And it's just so...So peaceful, eh?" He glances at her. "Everything is serene and quiet and just _beautiful_." He smiles. "It is nothing like the domesticity of a zoo, or the modernity of home living. It's completely wild and like things should be."

Skippsy considers this for a moment. "Doesn't it get lonely?"

"Not really...I'm not an extrovert...I could be fine living in my cabin alone in the woods without any issues." He shrugs.

"I'd get lonely." She nods some. "Heck, I'd probably go insane."

"And you're not insane already?"

Skippsy gives him a look. "Trust me, I'm sane."

"Ehm...Then you certainly do not need to spend two years out alone." He blinks.

Skippsy narrows her eyes a little at him for a moment. "Did you just call me crazy?"

Ethan clears his throat. "Well...Everyone from the States are crazy...So it isn't anything personal, of course."

"Mhm…" She gives him a certain glance and looks out the window again. "Well, not all Americans are alike...Personalities vary as much as the accents."

He shrugs. "I'll take your word for it."

Skippsy rolls her eyes some. "How much farther?"

"Not too much, I'd say. I haven't ever timed the distance."

"Alright." She sighs. "Can we have some music on then, at least?"

Ethan nods towards the glove department. "See if you see something in there. I'm fine with whatever."

Skippsy nods and gets the CDs. "Nickelback...Three Days Grace...Funny, I didn't take you for liking this type." She says. "Ooh! This one." She nods and slides in a CD of Poison. "But honestly, after hearing about your... Love of nature, I would have expected more...Something like flute serenades." She says.

"There is a CD under the seat…" He murmurs, barely audibly.

Skippsy looks at him slightly amused and gets it out. "Any reason you were hiding it?"

Ethan just shrugs and concentrates on the road. "I propose a don't ask, don't tell policy."

"Fine, and you called _me _paranoid." She sticks her tongue out at him.

Ethan glances at her. "Alright, alright...My girlfriend didn't like it, I didn't want to hear her rant, okay?" He sighs.

Skippsy feels a sinking in her stomach at that. "Oh...You have a girlfriend?"

"_Had_." He sighs and shakes his head. "We broke up a couple months ago...Had the custody battle over Emy last week…"

"Emy?" She looks at him. "You have a daughter?"

"I _had_ a mouse." He sighs and shakes his head. "Keep up, eh?"

"Oh..._Oh_." She nods some and feels strangely relieved. "I'm sorry to hear about that."

Ethan shrugs a little and pulls up at his cabin. "It doesn't matter now. They're gone...Moved to Nova Scotia." He looks at his cabin.

Skippsy gives him a pitying look. "Sorry I asked…"

"It's fine." He sighs and hops out. She also exits the truck and follows him into his cabin. "I just need to get a few more things, I promise it should not take very long."

Skippsy nods and looks around. It is simply arranged in the main room. There is a little desk in the far left corner, a small square table over towards the right side of the room. A little oven and refrigerator and sink are near the table, with cabinets hanging above the sink and oven. There is a large white, furry rug in the floor, covering the majority of the empty space. She tiptoes past him to investigate the rest of the cabin. She finds a simple bedroom situated only with a cot, a nightstand, lamp, and wardrobe with a bathroom connected to it. She tiptoes back to the mainroom and isn't sure what to do.

"That is faux fur in case you are wondering." He says, glancing over at her. "And I'm sorry about the lack of seating arrangements...I don't typically have anyone else up here."

"It's understandable." She nods, taking a seat in the desk chair. "So I take it you didn't bring your ex-girlfriend up here much?"

"Never." He shakes his head. "She doesn't even know I had it after four years of dating...She...She wasn't a fan of the wilderness…"

"Does she have a name or is that pressing too much?" She asks.

Ethan glances at her from a hidden closet he has opened. "Maika." He says.

"Maika like formica?" Skippsy asks.

Ethan shakes his head, but looks a tiny bit amused. "Not exactly, but she was nearly as expensive as nice formica."

Skippsy nods some. "So she was that kind of girl…"

"Yeah…" He sighs. "And we tried making it work for four years...But you know, sometimes you just have to throw in the towel."

"So you broke up with her?" She asks.

"And she won custody of my Emy." He nods. "I really loved that mouse…" He sighs.

Skippsy looks at him, feeling uncomfortable. "Couldn't you get another mouse?"

"Yes...But it just wouldn't be the same...You get what I mean?"

Skippsy nods. "Yes…"

Ethan pulls a tent package out from the closet and a sleeping bag. "I just have one tent, but I _do_ have two sleeping bags."

"Okay." She nods again and stands up. "Need me to get some of the things?"

"I'd expect you to carry the bag you'll be using." He nods and tosses her one of the rolls. "But I'll carry the tent."

Skippsy opens her beak to ask if he is sure, but then closes it again with a nod. "Fine." She says. "Need me to carry anything else?"

Ethan considers this and then shakes his head. "Nothing more than is already in your pack. I believe I have already made sure they are balanced fairly." He smiles at her. "Though this might be a bit late to ask, but have you done much hiking before?"

"Well...Not backpack hiking, perse, but I've done a lot of hiking in South America." She nods. "I...Ehm...You're not going to believe me...But um...I have an agent who...Erm...Can swallow things, hold them in her like storage, and regurgitate them at will for use…" She rubs the back of her neck. "Which we are trying to figure out how to fix...But in the meanwhile, it's fairly convenient."

Ethan turns and looks at her for a long minute. "I've...I've heard of something like that before...I think…" He blinks.

"You may have, Skipper has his sergeant in the same condition." She nods some.

"I see…" He rubs his beak. "So...I suppose you are used to things of the unusual then."

"Why? Having anything else to add to my list of amazements?"

Ethan shakes his head. "Not really...But if we do catch sight of something out in the woods…"

Skippsy laughs. "Don't tell me you actually believe in that kind of stuff."

"You never can tell out there in the woods…" He looks at her seriously. "Now, I won't say that waheela or sasquatches are real...But if you spend enough time out in the woods, you learn that they hide many secrets that they do not plan on telling anyone about anytime soon."

"I'm starting to think that you may have spent a little _too much_ time out in the woods." She snorts. "Little magic creatures don't exist."

Ethan shrugs. "As was thought about the giant squid in the depths of the ocean and the okapis in Africa until they were discovered as real."

Skippsy shrugs. "But those weren't magical werewolf things like this said waheela."

"As I said, there is no telling." He shrugs again. "And the waheela is a bear-wolf, you are thinking of the adlets."

"Either way...There is a way to tell. They _don't_ exist. Case closed, unless there is _proof_ to prove me otherwise." She nods curtly and stands up.

Ethan chuckles and gets the door. "I reserve the right to remain on the fence."

"You enjoy that right." She nods. "I'll stay on the side of reality." She shoulders the backpack again.

Ethan shakes his head as he shoulders his pack. "We'll see, eh?"

Skippsy rolls her eyes. "No we won't because they do not exist." She says in a bit sing-songy way. Ethan only shakes his head again and starts waddling towards the tree line. "Hold up, my legs are shorter than yours!" She exclaims and kind of scampers to catch up.


	3. A Bet to Regret

**Chapter 3: A Bet to Regret**

"So this is the Canadian wilderness..." Skippsy mutters as they walk.

Ethan nods some as he happily hikes along.

"A whole lot less snow than I expected."

He looks back at her. "You must have been thinking something like an Arctic forest, no. No, it does snow, but as you can see, it isn't _always_ snowy."

"Of course." She nods and looks around.

Ethan gestures to his right. "The maple trees I believe are only topped in beauty in the fall." He sighs. "I mean, this is such a vibrant shade of green, but their reds and purples in autumn are gorgeous."

"Yeah, Marissa talks about the tree colors back in New York." Skippsy nods. "Never really interested me, though."

"Oh? Why not?" He glances at her.

"I've had other things on my mind...No room for trees, I guess." She shrugs.

"You don't say?"

Skippsy shrugs. "Now, when Skipper and I were chicks, that would have been a different story." She chuckles. "I'd climb up as high as I could in the closest tree I could find and hide and then jump down upon Skipper."

Ethan looks at her. "So you've always been an energetic type?"

"Oh yeah, yeah...I mean, we grew up in a military family. The second we were out of our eggs we were put into training." She sighs.

"That sounds...Boring." He makes a face.

"Well, I'm sure it was, but when that is how you are brought up, then that is just how things are...The other things seem boring and weird." She chuckles and shakes her head. "Though I wouldn't suggest raising kids like that...Causes too much paranoia in adulthood."

"Is that how you know Commander Gray then?" Ethan asks as he starts to climb over a fallen tree. "She was a family friend?"

"Not exactly...I mean, she's who assigned Skipper and I to our first team together, back when co-ed was fine."

"That was...A while back wasn't it?" He says as he watches to see if she needs help.

Skippsy nods and climbs over the trunk. "We were started in the program young...Then by the time we were in our early twenties, Skipper had become the skipper and I was his lieutenant. We had a nice little team."

"How small?" Ethan nods and starts forward again.

"Five in total." She sighs. "Skipper, myself, Manfredi, Johnson, and Ben-Benjamin." Her voice catches a little as she says the last name. Skippsy then takes a deep breath and plows on with the conversation. "And then Skipper and I had a disagreement and I left his team. I wandered for a while until I happened to run across Grace...And she took me in."

"Took you in as like…?"

Skippsy sighs. "She let me live with her for a few weeks, until I found an apartment, and she personally trained me for a skipper-ship. Then once I was ready, she assigned me my very first team."

"How many teams have you had?" Ethan asks as he watches a squirrel.

"Counting Skipper's...Three, I suppose."

Ethan looks at her. "Three? So you…."

"My second team grew by a few members, but then the original members minus myself were lost so in a way, it was like a brand new team." She sighs. "Can we...Can we please change the subject? Please?" Skippsy looks at him.

Ethan nods and gets distracted anyhow by a movement in the brush. "Mhm hmm." He murmurs as he starts inching into the trees.

"Where are you going?" She stops and watches him. "The trail leads this way."

"Shush!" He glances at her. "Stay." He then quietly walks into the woods.

Skippsy can barely see him any longer. She takes a seat there on the trail with a sigh. "Of all the topics to get on...This had to have been one of the worst." She mutters to herself.

After a few moments, Ethan returns. "Alright come on." He says.

"Well? What was it?" She asks as she stands back up.

Ethan shrugs. "A young bear, may still live with it's mum." He says. "It's best for us to keep moving."

Skippsy smirks some. "I could take a mama bear no problem."

The other penguin looks at her. "Let's not hurt the wildlife, alright? Not unless it tries to hurt us first."

"Okay, fine, we'll try to keep the trees and critters all nice and in one piece." Skippsy rolls her eyes with a sigh.

Ethan nods satisfied and continues forward. "You have to remember these creatures are more scared of you than you are of them."

"They should be, I ain't the least bit scared." She snorts. "I wish some critter _would_ come up for some action."

"Americans. Everything must have a fight to be interesting." He rolls his eyes.

"Not true!" She gasps. "I like...Non-fighting things...Too…" Well, at least she thought she probably does. She doesn't spend her entire day fighting things usually.

"Name some." Ethan smirks. "If you can name ten, we'll make a deal."

"I'll name more than ten and this deal had better be worth it." She snorts and thinks. "I like music, a few sappy romances every now and then, chess isn't real fighting so it counts as being without fighting….Swimming, teaching." Well, she enjoys teaching her team how to fight, but she teaches instincts as well, so decides she is saved by the gray-scale.

"That's only five."

Skippsy glares at him. "I enjoy listening to my teammates' about their inventions even though I know they'll probably explode and I'll have to pretend to be irritated because they want the criticism."

"Six."

"I like computer games!"

"What kind of game, rpg?" He smirks.

"Yes...But I like solitaire and hearts and those little dress up games too."

Ethan looks at her. "Seven…."

"I like reading through old files and photo albums of my old teams."

"Eight."

Skippsy glares more at him. "Fishing the natural way."

"Nine."

"AND I SOMETIMES LIKE SINGING WHILE PLAYING DRESS UP IN THE MIRROR, ALRIGHT?!" She then growls.

Ethan looks at her for a long moment before smiling a little slyly. "I thought you said you would name more than ten, eh?"

"I enjoy winning bets over little frustrations like you." She snorts and crosses her flippers.

"I see...I will say these count because technically no violent combat is included, though if I had said it had to be with no competitive edge, I'm sorry to say you would have lost the bet." He chuckles as he waddles with her.

"Yeah, yeah, but I didn't lose, so what's my prize?" She rolls her eyes.

"We haven't made a deal yet." Ethan shrugs. "How about we set it aside and determine a deal after this mission?"

Skippsy glances at him. "Fine. But I hope you understand I'll hold you to it. I don't take bets lightly."

Ethan moves a branch off of the trail and just shakes his head with a chuckle. "Crazy competitive Americans…"

"And you said I was a stereotyper, you've done nothing but stereotype me this whole waddle." She snorts.

"Well, obviously neither of us are perfect." He sighs. "But I will say this has been a terrific ice breaker, eh? Now I know a little about you."

"So?"

Ethan shrugs and looks up at the sky. "I play a few rpgs in my free time as well, maybe we play some of the same."

"Meh, I don't play often. Never have the time." She says, watching the surrounding trees.

"Makes sense. Well, thinking of icebreakers, you know my personal life, what about yours? Does Miss American have a beau?" He looks over at her.

Skippsy stops walking for a moment and looks at him. "You've entered into deeply classified topic."

"How is whether you are single or not classified? I'm not asking you out either way. My life is insane enough without adding an insanely paranoid American to it." He chuckles.

She just shakes her head and starts waddling again.

"It's only fair. I told you about Maika." He sighs.

"Fine. I'm single. No time for trying another relationship." She says crisply. _Not that any other guys out there would want a woman like me anyhow. Too domineering, too aggressive, too much baggage and mental disorders...Not that I could even love another man after Benny._

Ethan looks thoughtfully at her back as he follows her. "That wasn't so hard now, was it?"

"New subject." She snorts.

"Alright, fine, but your refusal to speak about this has made me curious."

Skippsy turns around and jabs her flipper in the air towards his beak. "Well you better cage that curiosity before it gets you killed." She snarls before turning back around and waddling faster.

Ethan blinks and just stands there watching her for a moment. He then shakes his head and follows her. "Fascinating..."


	4. Friendly Interrogations

**Chapter 4: Friendly Interrogations **

"Why are you so classified anyhow eh?" Ethan asks and glances over at her.

"Because my business is no one else's business. I value my privacy." She sticks her beak up in the air.

Ethan regards her curiously. "Well, I hope you know it makes someone want to ask more questions and interrogate the kipper out of you."

"You can't interrogate one of the base's top interrogators." Skippsy rolls her eyes.

"Want to make another bet? We can keep count and pay up at the end of the mission." He smirks.

Skippsy cuts her look over at him for a long moment. "You're annoying, but fine. It's better than waddling aimlessly in boring wilderness." She snorts.

"Okay, then when we stop to make camp, I'll grill you and you can grill me back." He shrugs.

"If it will get you off my case…." Skippsy sighs and looks at the surrounding trees. "But let's try getting a few more miles in before we stop."

Ethan stops and looks at her. "Miles? Are you not tired yet?" he exclaims.

"No? Why are you?" She stops and looks at him. "Mhm, obviously someone isn't keeping up with their training." She smirks and then continues forward.

"Crazy Americans with your insane training schedules. How do you ever have time to enjoy life?" He shakes his head.

"Ha funny, you think I have a life!" Skippsy chuckles. "My job is my life, Ethan. I live my job every day with my girls. I do not ever have a day off."

Ethan stares at her. "No wonder you're so aggressive and crazy."

"I'm not crazy."

"Never said you were."

"You just did."

"Did not."

Skippsy rolls her eyes. "How much further are you willing to go on your untrained feet?"

"Over that ridge there is a nice clearing. We'll stop there for today." Ethan nods.

"Fine," she sighs.

They walk for a little while until they reach the edge of the clearing. Ethan sets up the tent as Skippsy sets up the campfire. She tosses her sleeping bag roll to Ethan once he has started on the inside of the tent.

"I'll be right back with some fish and refill our canteens. There's a stream not too far off," he says and slides away.

"Right, sure," she sighs and rolls out her bag in the tent and lays on it. She stares up at the ceiling and thinks. "This mission would have been simpler if Commander Gray just gave me a map and sent me off alone. In a rescue mission every second counts and here this Canadian is wasting time with taking breaks… Granted the poor agent is probably long dead by now, but there's still a small chance he's not.

"Of course, if there was too big of a chance of him still being alive, the commander _would_ have sent me alone or with my entire team, so she must really think this agent is dead," she murmurs to herself. "Maybe there'll be enough remains left for us to bring back… Like his head or something."

"Wow, you are one optimistic woman," Ethan chuckles as he enters the tent.

Skippsy looks over at him. "I'm being realistic. I've been on enough of these search and rescue missions to know."

Ethan sits down on his sleeping bag and passes her a canteen. "We won't know until we get there, no use thinking about it until then."

"If you don't already think about it, then you can't be prepared. You _have_ to think through all the different scenarios if you don't have an analyst with you."

"Okay, then you make a hundred useless plans based off of theories, and I will wait and make my plan once we know what we're working with." He yawns and leans back onto his sleeping bag.

Skippsy rolls her eyes. "For sure you'll never be skipper material with that kind of attitude."

"Who ever said I wanted to be a skipper? I'm perfectly happy being a solo agent." He puts his flippers behind his head. "Oh, anyway I put the fish over the fire to warm up."

"So why are you then laying there and not watching them?"

"Because I'm laying here and they are over there."

"Well, then you should move your tail and go watch them. I can't cook." She crosses her flippers with a glare.

Ethan glances at her and sits up. "I didn't mean to…" he sighs and shakes his head. "Nevermind." He leans out of the tent and turns the fish.

"Course you didn't." She snorts and takes out a map.

"You Americans are too easily offended, eh?"

Skippsy groans inwardly and lays back on her sleeping bag. "For starters, not all Americans are the same, mkay? Second of all, if you were female and grew up with the brother I did, you'd be easily offended too."

"Okay and I will have to start your interrogation at that." He smirks. "Tell me about that."

"What about it?" She snorts.

Ethan thinks as he turns the fish. "What was being with your brother like?"

"Depended on the day of the week, the season, and if we had had coffee at breakfast and changed at a gust."

"Can you explain in English?"

Skippsy glances at him. "It wasn't easy. Skipper…" She motions a little. "Skipper has his certain way of thinking that women are fragile, impractical, time-wasters, disaster-prone, and all in all not military material. So I have always had to dig hard to prove him wrong and to show him he's a stubborn old-fashioned jerk." She smirks. "That was easier when I was his second-in-command, but our arguments have always been brutal. We cut each other deep and never apologize nor ask for an apology. Eventually we essentially severed the last familial cord between us and went our separate ways."

"Can I ask how?"

"On that, no." She looks away and shakes her head. "No. Things were said that day… Things happened that day… I don't like to talk about it."

"Sometimes talking helps." He looks at her.

Skippsy glares at him over her shoulder. "_Some_ things do not need to ever be talked about, okay?"

Ethan holds up his flippers. "Fine, alright. You're turn."

"What breed was Maika?" Skippsy asks.

"What?"

"What type of penguin was she, your ex?" She shrugs.

Ethan looks at her a little strangely. "Uhh…" He thinks for a moment. "She was a Gentoo."

"Then why did she even need makeup? They have it naturally!" She shakes her head.

"Who knows…" He looks at her. "Alright, next question. You said 'another' when you were talking about relationships. How many have you had?"

Skippsy glares at him. She'd prefer not discussing this, but then she'd lose the bet. "Actual relationships, one. Sexual relations? More than I care to remember." She snorts.

Ethan turns and looks at her. "You continue to spur my curiosity."

"Tough, my turn. Do you do anything besides hiking around in the woods alone?"

"Yes, I go on solo missions frequently and I sometimes help park rangers who are having trouble." He shrugs. "Okay, so what was this one relationship like?"

Skippsy turns away. "I don't want to talk about it, Ethan…"

"But why not?" He frowns.

"Because, I just don't want to." She gets up and steps out of the tent. "Excuse me, I'll be back." She then waddles a short distance away. She can feel the tears starting to come and there was no way she was going to cry in front of him. She sits down at the base of a broad maple tree and puts her head in her flippers and cries. She can't help but think about Benny and the explosion and the fight. It plays through her mind as though she was still standing there watching it over… and over… and over… and over again.

Skippsy jumps as she feels something on her shoulder and looks up. There is Ethan smiling awkwardly and confused at her. She turns away and shrugs his flipper from her shoulder.

"I didn't mean to upset you, Skippsy… I didn't realize it'd cause you such grief," he says and sits down beside her.

"I know…" she sighs shakily.

"I won't ask you about it again."

Skippsy turns and looks at him and then at the grass and takes a deep breath. "The reason I left Skipper's team was because he sent Benjamin into Dr. Blowhole's hideout. It exploded moments afterwards, and Skipper just shrugged it off. Skipper and I got into a fight, words were exchanged that could not be taken back, and I left. Private Benjamin was my fiance." She stares at the grass. "The only man I've ever had actually care about me and I could trust fully." She glances at him. "The only man who would stop when I said I didn't want to talk."

Ethan nods a little with a gentle look. "I'm sorry. That was juvenile of me. Any other topic I should avoid for future questions?"

Skippsy silently chuckles a little. "You never stop do you?"

"Is that a yes?"

She leans her head back on a tree. "No. I can't tell you any others."

Ethan looks at her steadily. He doesn't believe her, but he drops the topic. He gently pulls her towards him for a hug, but she awkwardly leans over his flipper and away from him with a small squirm.

"I don't do hugs," she grumbles and stands up. She dusts herself off and clears her throat. "Better get back to dinner before it burns."

He gets up with a small nod, but looks at her again. "It's your turn, by the way. I'm essentially an open book."

Skippsy just shakes her head. "You win this round. I don't want to play interrogation anymore today," she sighs and waddles back to the tent.


End file.
